Development of Targeted Exploration Techniques in Peru: An International Collaboration and Case Study

In 2017, the Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy (GBCGE) received funding from the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Energy Resources to take the geothermal play fairway approach global under the Geothermal Development (GEODE) initiative. This initiative aims to increase the capacity of foreign governments to develop their geothermal resources via collaborative knowledge transfer and training, and deployment of innovative methods such as geothermal play fairway analysis to evaluate regional geothermal potential and reduce exploration risk. The second partner country selected for collaborative work under GEODE was Peru, and our collaboration is with the Instituto Geológico Minero y Metalúrgico (INGEMMET), Peru’s national geological survey. The geothermal team at INGEMMET have been systematically acquiring new regional geothermal datasets for several years, and current efforts are focused in the Andes in the Tacna region of southern Peru. The initial stages of the collaborative project identified two priorities: (1) working together to refine existing conceptual models for one or more geothermal systems in the Tacna region (e.g. Casiri-Kallapuma, or Kovire), and (2) conducting a geothermal play fairway (PFA) analysis for a ~18,000 km² area in southern Peru that includes parts of Tacna, Moquegua, and Arequipa regions.. Both activities will draw on the substantial existing data collected and compiled by INGEMMET, and supplemented by field observations by the GBCGE team. Key datasets that are being utilized for the PFA include geological maps, hot spring locations and characteristics (and geochemistry where available), structural maps and fault characteristics, geophysical data (magneto-telluric), and processed ASTER imagery. The PFA will use novel spatial and geostatistical techniques to integrate the various datasets to create geothermal favorability maps for the area, and our initial results will be presented at the conference.